Kids’ Online Yoga Classes Keep Kids Mentally & Physically Active

Kids can stay active and fit this winter, even while at home during the holidays, thanks to Cupertino-based MyYogaTeacher, which offers live (not pre-recorded) group and private yoga classes online, led by expert Indian yoga teachers. Through two-way interaction, teachers hear and see students, helping them learn yoga safely, while keeping them engaged and inspired. The benefits of yoga for children are diverse: they learn to be more aware of their physical, mental and emotional self, while increasing their body’s strength and flexibility.

The kids’ yoga classes, broken into 2 age groups (7-9 years; 10-12 years) and taught by 4 different instructors, are a modified version of adult yoga practice, where teachers may focus on specific topics during each session, such as balance, coordination, concentration, flexibility, breathwork and meditation. Teachers may incorporate games, stories and artwork to make learning yoga fun (see post by Vanessa Johnson whose kids attend MyYogaTeacher group classes). They show the kids various yoga poses and demonstrate how to get into a pose, sometimes more than once. Parents of young children are also invited to attend.

According to Sakshi Jain, instructor of kids’ yoga classes at MyYogaTeacher, “Yoga class is a safe place for kids to leave outside worries behind and connect with their inner world. Being on the mat brings calm, joy, creativity, and peace, and helps them build confidence and perform better in every aspect of their lives.”

San Francisco Bay Area student Kushi Hosahalli, age 12, who started in MyYogaTeacher’s group class but transitioned soon after to private classes, says about her lessons, “it’s cool that it’s one on one, and gives me more of a chance to improve upon myself and my flexibility…. I get to choose how the class goes, which she [the teacher] guides me through, which is pretty nice….”

In terms of how yoga impacts Kushi’s life outside of yoga, she says, “I notice that ever since I started yoga, regardless of what I’m doing, I am more focused and calm.… It just really makes me feel good about myself.… Along with yoga I do karate and dance...in karate you need a lot of stamina and strength, and I’m pretty sure I have gotten a lot stronger in the past 6 months [by doing yoga]...and in dance it’s just made me a lot more flexible so I can do a lot cooler dance poses.”